Parking systems and methods for pre-configuring bays to reduce vehicle retrieval time

ABSTRACT

A parking system including a plurality of trays, a plurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) configured to transport the plurality of trays, a plurality of bays, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a bay configuration ratio based on collected parking data, each bay being configured into one of an insert-ready state and a retrieve-ready state in accordance with the bay configuration ratio. When a bay is in the insert-ready state, a tray is placed within the bay and an outward-facing door of the bay is in an open position. When a bay is in the retrieve-ready state, the outward-facing door of the bay is in a closed position, an inward-facing door of the bay is in an open position, and no tray is positioned within the bay.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present specification generally relates to systems and methods forreducing the time necessary to retrieve a vehicle from a parking garageand, more specifically, systems and methods for determining parkingspaces for vehicles based on vehicle pick up times.

BACKGROUND

Conventional parking garages are transforming the landscape to meet thedemand for high capacity storage. In urban centers, where space aboveand below ground is at a premium, the owner of a parking facility isconstrained by a fixed footprint and a certain amount of vertical spaceextending from such footprint. In new construction projects, an abilityto park vehicles in a tightly packed configuration may provide asignificant cost savings for the project. In existing garages, parkingvehicles more tightly can result in increased revenue from increasedparking volume or open up new opportunities in freed-up space.

A common approach to increasing parking density in existing garages isto hire human valets to manually park vehicles in tight configurations.However, valets are fundamentally limited by the steering dynamics ofthe vehicles, as well as the minimum spacing between vehicles necessaryto allow for entry and exit. This limits the vehicle density that can beachieved. For new construction, mechanical parking systems such asstackers or rack and rail systems can increase density. However, thesesystems are large, expensive mechanical systems. As such, they requirelarge upfront costs and are typically built into a building design wellin advance. Once installed, they tend to be very expensive and difficultto modify, remove, or replace.

To increase parking density, some vehicles may be “parked in”. That is,some cars are parked behind others such that it is necessary to movemultiple vehicles out of the way to retrieve certain vehicles. Theseextra vehicle movements increase the retrieval time of the parked-invehicles, i.e., the time necessary to deliver the vehicle back to theowner.

Accordingly, a need exists for improved parking systems that overcomethe need for human-related overhead and limitations of automobilesteering dynamics and include the necessary decision making systems toefficiently retrieve vehicles with predictable wait times for allvehicles.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a parking system includes: a plurality of trays; aplurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) configured to transportthe plurality of trays; a plurality of bays; and a controller configuredto determine a bay configuration ratio based on collected parking data,each bay being configured into one of an insert-ready state and aretrieve-ready state in accordance with the bay configuration ratio,wherein when a bay is in the insert-ready state, a tray is placed withinthe bay and an outward-facing door of the bay is in an open position,wherein when a bay is in the retrieve-ready state, the outward-facingdoor of the bay is in a closed position, an inward-facing door of thebay is in an open position, and no tray is positioned within the bay.

In another embodiment, a parking system includes: a plurality of trays,each tray including a platform and a plurality of legs extending fromthe platform; a plurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) configuredto engage a bottom surface of the platform of each tray and transportthe tray; a plurality of bays, each bay including a base having a recessformed therein for receiving a tray; and a controller configured todetermine a bay configuration ratio based on collected parking data,each bay being configured into one of an insert-ready state and aretrieve-ready state in accordance with the bay configuration ratio,wherein when a bay is in the insert-ready state, a tray is placed withinthe bay and an outward-facing door of the bay is in an open position,wherein when a bay is in the retrieve-ready state, the outward-facingdoor of the bay is in a closed position, an inward-facing door of thebay is in an open position, and no tray is positioned within the bay.

In yet another embodiment, a method includes: determining a bayconfiguration ratio based on collected parking data; and positioning aplurality of bays in one of an insert-ready state and a retrieve-readystate in accordance with the bay configuration ratio, wherein when a bayis in the insert-ready state, a tray is placed within the bay and anoutward-facing door of the bay is in an open position, wherein when abay is in the retrieve-ready state, the outward-facing door of the bayis in a closed position, an inward-facing door of the bay is in an openposition, and no tray is positioned within the bay.

These and additional features provided by the embodiments describedherein will be more fully understood in view of the following detaileddescription, in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplaryin nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by theclaims. The following detailed description of the illustrativeembodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, where like structure is indicated with likereference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a vehicle parked on a tray and transportedby an automated guided vehicle along a floor surface of a parkinggarage, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a bay in an insert-ready state, accordingto one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 3 schematically depicts the bay of FIG. 2 in a retrieve-readystate, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 4 schematically depicts components of a parking system, accordingto one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 5 schematically depicts a controller of the parking system of FIG.4 , according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 6 schematically depicts a plurality of parking spaces of an exampleparking garage, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of a method for arranging vehicles withinthe parking garage, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein; and

FIG. 8 schematically depicts a flow diagram of a method for configuringbays of the parking system, according to one or more embodiments shownand described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein are directed to systems and methods for theautomated storage of vehicles or the like including a system thatmanages the scheduling and planning of storage and retrieval requests,and interacts with a system that transports a vehicle between an accesslocation, such as a drive-up location/transfer point or bay, and anefficient storage location, such as a parking space within a parkinggarage.

In embodiments, a parking system includes a plurality of trays, aplurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) configured to transportthe plurality of trays, a bay, and a controller configured to sendinstruction to an AGV to position a tray within the bay to receive atarget vehicle in response to receiving a parking reservation from auser device, send instruction to one of the AGVs to navigate the targetvehicle received within the bay to a target parking space, and sendinstruction to at least a subset of the AGVs to rearranging the traycarrying the target vehicle based on a pick up time indicated in theparking reservation.

Additionally, in embodiments, a parking system includes a plurality oftrays, a plurality of AGVs configured to transport the plurality oftrays, a plurality of bays, and a controller configured to determine abay configuration ratio based on one or more parameters, each bay beingconfigured into one of an insert-ready state or a retrieve-ready statein accordance with the bay configuration ratio, wherein when a bay is inthe insert-ready state, a tray is placed within the bay and anoutward-facing door of the bay is in an open position, and wherein whena bay is in the retrieve-ready state, the outward-facing door of the bayis in a closed position, an inward-facing door of the bay is in an openposition, and no tray is positioned within the bay.

Various embodiments of the parking systems and the operation of theparking systems are described in more detail herein. Whenever possible,the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings torefer to the same or like parts.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , an example AGV 100 is illustrated carrying atray 102 on which a vehicle 104 is supported. In embodiments, the AGV100 is an omnidirectional vehicle including omnidirectional wheels suchas, for example, Mecanum wheels. As used herein, “omnidirectionalvehicle” refers to any vehicle capable of moving in directions otherthan just a forward vehicle longitudinal direction and a rearwardvehicle longitudinal direction. Specifically, the AGV 100 is capable ofrotating about a central point of the AGV 100, moving in a sidewaysvehicle lateral direction, and moving in a diagonal direction byindependently controlling the direction of rotation of theomnidirectional wheels of the AGV 100. However, it should be appreciatedthat the AGV 100 may be any other suitable vehicle and not limited tobeing an omnidirectional vehicle including omnidirectional wheels.

The AGV 100 includes one or more navigation sensors 110 configured todetect an object or obstacle to assist the AGV 100 in performing anautonomous driving command. As shown in FIG. 1 , the AGV 100 traverses afloor surface 106 of a parking garage 108 which is provided with indicia109 or any other suitable marking identifiable by the navigation sensorof the AGV 100 so that the AGV 100 may orient itself within the parkinggarage 108. As shown, the indicia 109 defines a grid on the floorsurface 106 of the parking garage 108 identifying individual parkingspaces in which trays 102 may be parked and also defines one or morepaths between parking spaces for the AGV 100 to follow when movingbetween a bay 200 (FIG. 2 ) and a target parking space.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the tray 102 includes a platform 112 having anupper surface 114 on which the vehicle 104 is initially parked, and aplurality of legs 116 extending from corners of the platform 112. Thelegs 116 of the tray 102 support the tray 102 on the floor surface 106and define gaps through which the AGV 100 moves so as to be positionedunder the platform 112 of the tray 102. Specifically, the tray 102 mayinclude a pair of front legs 116A defining a front gap 118 at a frontend 120 of the tray 102 so the AGV 100 may be positioned below the tray102 through the front end 120 of the tray 102 along a first axis A1, anda pair of rear legs 116B defining a rear gap 122 at a rear end 124 ofthe tray 102 so the AGV 100 may be positioned below the tray 102 throughthe rear end 124 of the tray 102 along the first axis A1. The pair offront legs 116A and the pair of rear legs 116B also define a pair ofside gaps 126 at opposite sides 128 of the tray 102 so the AGV 100 maybe positioned below the tray 102 through the sides 128 of the tray 102along a second axis A2 transverse to the first axis A1. As such, inembodiments, the AGV 100 is dimensioned to be less than the front gap118, the rear gap 122, and the side gaps 126.

The AGV 100 includes a lifting mechanism operable between a loweredposition, in which the lifting mechanism does not engage the tray 102,an intermediate position in which the lifting mechanism engages or mateswith the tray 102, and a raised position in which the lifting mechanismextends to raise the tray 102 off the floor surface 106. Specifically,when the lifting mechanism is in the raised position, the liftingmechanism may engage a lower surface 130 of the platform 112 and isextended to lift the tray 102 off of the floor surface 106. Inembodiments, the AGV 100 may include one or more tray sensors to detectwhen the AGV 100 is positioned below the tray 102 and, in response todetermining that the lifting mechanism is positioned below the tray 102,activate the lifting mechanism to move from the lowered position to theraised position to raise the tray 102. Additionally, when the liftingmechanism is in the raised position and carrying the tray 102, thenavigation sensor 110 of the AGV 100 may be utilized to determine thatthe AGV 100 is in a target location for the tray 102 to be positionedsuch as, for example, a target parking space or a bay 200, and, inresponse, activate the lifting mechanism to move from the raisedposition to the lowered position to lower the tray 102 onto the floorsurface 106. However, it should be appreciated that the AGV 100 may beconfigured to engage and move a vehicle itself without use of a tray102.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a bay 200 is illustrated in aninsert-ready state (FIG. 2 ) and a retrieve-ready state (FIG. 3 ). Itshould be appreciated that a plurality of bays 200 may be provided alonga perimeter of the parking garage 108 or any other suitable location forreceiving a vehicle to be parked in a parking space of the parkinggarage 108. In embodiments, the bay 200 includes a plurality of walls202 defining an enclosure 204. Specifically, the bay 200 includes a pairof side walls 202A, a top wall 202B extending between the pair of sidewalls 202A, and a base 202C opposite the top wall 202B and extendingbetween the pair of side walls 202A. The side walls 202A, the top wall202B, and the base 202C define an open front end 206 and an open rearend 208 opposite the front end 206.

The bay 200 also includes a forward-facing door 210 provided at thefront end 206 of the bay 200 and a rearward-facing door 212 provided atthe rear end 208 of the bay 200. In embodiments, the forward-facing door210 and the rearward-facing door 212 each extends between the pair ofside walls 202A of the bay 200. However, in other embodiments, theforward-facing door 210 and the rearward-facing door 212 may be formedadjacent one another. The forward-facing door 210 and therearward-facing door 212 are each positionable between an open positionand a closed position. As shown in FIG. 2 , the forward-facing door 210is in the open position and the rearward-facing door 212 is in theclosed position. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3 , the rearward-facingdoor 212 is in the open position and the forward-facing door 210 is inthe closed position. The forward-facing door 210 and the rearward-facingdoor 212 may be any suitable doors such as, for example, retractabledoors extending from one or more of the side walls 202A, the top wall202B, and the base 202C. In other embodiments, the forward-facing door210 and the rearward-facing door 212 may be pivotable doors pivotallyattached one or more of the side walls 202A, the top wall 202B, and thebase 202C. As shown, the forward-facing door 210 and the rearward-facingdoor 212 are pivotally attached to the top wall 202B of the bay 200.

The bay 200 is oriented such that the rearward-facing door 212 is facingan interior of the parking garage 108 and the forward-facing door 210 isfacing an opposite direction away from the interior of the parkinggarage 108. A recess 214 is formed in the base 202C of the bay 200 andopen at the rear end 208 to receive an AGV 100 carrying a tray 102within the recess 214. It should be appreciated that the base 202C ofthe bay 200 is elevated relative to the floor surface 106 of the parkinggarage 108 such that an AGV 100 may navigate through the open rear end208 of the bay 200 when the rearward-facing door 212 is in the openposition and lower the tray 102 within the recess 214. Once the tray 102is lowered into the recess 214 provided in the base 202C of the bay 200,the upper surface 114 of the tray 102 is substantially flush with anupper surface of the base 202C of the bay 200. Accordingly, a vehicle,such as a vehicle to be dropped off by an owner to be parked, may bedriven into the bay 200 through the open front end 206 of the bay 200when the forward-facing door 210 is in the open position and onto thetray 102 positioned within the recess 214 of the base 202C of the bay200. Thereafter, as described in more detail herein, the vehicle ownermay exit the vehicle and the bay 200 so that the vehicle may betransported to a target parking space by the AGV 100.

However, in embodiments, it should be appreciated that an AGV 100carrying a tray 102 may enter the bay 200 through the open rear end 208of the bay 200 with the rearward-facing door 212 in the closed position.Specifically, the recess 214 formed in the base 202C of the bay 200 maybe open at the rear end 208 of the bay 200 to allow for the AGV 100carrying the tray 102 to move into the bay 200 under the rearward-facingdoor 212 and be positioned within the recess 214. In this embodiment,the rearward-facing door 212 may only be required to be positioned intothe open position to allow for a vehicle to enter or exit the bay 200.

In embodiments, the bay 200 has one or more presence detection sensors216 configured to detect the presence of a vehicle and/or person. Inembodiments, the presence detection sensor 216 may also be configured todetect whether a person, such as the owner of the parking vehicle, ispresent within the bay 200 and prevent the AGV 100 from removing thetray 102 and thus the vehicle until it is determined that the person isno longer within the bay 200. In embodiments, the AGV 100 may beprevented from removing the tray 102 and vehicle until it is determinedthat the forward-facing door 210 is in the closed position such that noother person may enter the bay 200 and risk injury by falling into therecess 214 formed in the base 202C of the bay 200.

As discussed herein, the bay 200 is configurable into either theinsert-ready state or the retrieve-ready state. As shown in FIG. 2 , thebay 200 is configured into the insert-ready state to be ready for avehicle owner to park a vehicle within the bay 200 to be parked withinthe parking garage 108. Specifically, when in the insert-ready state, atray 102 is positioned within the recess 214 formed in the base 202C ofthe bay 200, the forward-facing door 210 of the bay 200 is in the openposition, and the rearward-facing door 212 is in the closed position.Thus, a vehicle may be driven into the bay 200 and parked on the tray102 without any additional configuration required prior to permittingthe vehicle to enter the bay 200. In embodiments, an AGV 100 may bealready positioned under the tray 102 so that the tray 102 may beremoved from the bay 200 immediately after the vehicle is parked on thetray 102 and it is determined that the owner of the vehicle has exitedthe bay 200.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3 , the bay 200 is configured into theretrieve-ready state to be ready for an AGV 100 to move a tray 102carrying a vehicle into the bay 200 to be retrieved by the owner.Specifically, when in the retrieve-ready state, no tray 102 ispositioned within the recess 214 formed in the base 202C of the bay 200,the forward-facing door 210 of the bay 200 is in the closed position toprevent any vehicle from entering the bay 200 from outside the parkinggarage 108, and the rearward-facing door 212 is in the open position.Thus, an AGV 100 may readily move a tray 102 carrying a vehicle into thebay 200 through the open rear end 208 without any modification to theconfiguration of the bay 200. This saves time in delivering a vehicle tothe bay 200 and allowing the vehicle to be retrieved by the owner.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , a parking system 400 is shown generallyincluding a central server 402, a bay 200, an AGV 100, and a user device404. The central server 402, the bay 200, the AGV 100, and the userdevice 404 are configured to communicate with one another or at leastwith the central server 402 via a network 406. Although the parkingsystem 400 is depicted as including only a single bay 200, AGV 100, anduser device 404, it should be appreciated that the parking system 400may include any number of bays 200, AGVs 100, and user devices 404 forcommunicating with the central server 402 via the network 406.

The central server 402 includes a controller 408 including one or moreprocessors 410 and one or more memory modules 412. Each of the one ormore processors 410 may be any device capable of executing machinereadable and executable instructions. Accordingly, each of the one ormore processors 410 may be an integrated circuit, a microchip, acomputer, or any other computing device. The one or more processors 410are coupled to a communication path 414 that provides signalinterconnectivity between various modules of the central server 402.Accordingly, the communication path 414 may communicatively couple anynumber of processors 410 with one another, and allow the modules coupledto the communication path 414 to operate in a distributed computingenvironment. Specifically, each of the modules may operate as a nodethat may send and/or receive data. As used herein, the term“communicatively coupled” means that coupled components are capable ofexchanging data signals with one another such as, for example,electrical signals via conductive medium, electromagnetic signals viaair, optical signals via optical waveguides, and the like.

Accordingly, the communication path 414 may be formed from any mediumthat is capable of transmitting a signal such as, for example,conductive wires, conductive traces, optical waveguides, or the like. Insome embodiments, the communication path 414 may facilitate thetransmission of wireless signals, such as WiFi, Bluetooth®, Near FieldCommunication (NFC) and the like. Moreover, the communication path 414may be formed from a combination of mediums capable of transmittingsignals. In one embodiment, the communication path 414 comprises acombination of conductive traces, conductive wires, connectors, andbuses that cooperate to permit the transmission of electrical datasignals to components such as processors, memories, sensors, inputdevices, output devices, and communication devices. Additionally, it isnoted that the term “signal” means a waveform (e.g., electrical,optical, magnetic, mechanical or electromagnetic), such as DC, AC,sinusoidal-wave, triangular-wave, square-wave, vibration, and the like,capable of traveling through a medium.

As noted above, the central server 402 includes one or more memorymodules 412 coupled to the communication path 414. The one or morememory modules 412 may comprise RAM, ROM, flash memories, hard drives,or any device capable of storing machine readable and executableinstructions such that the machine readable and executable instructionscan be accessed by the one or more processors 410. The machine readableand executable instructions may comprise logic or algorithm(s) writtenin any programming language of any generation (e.g., 1GL, 2GL, 3GL, 4GL,or 5GL) such as, for example, machine language that may be directlyexecuted by the processor, or assembly language, object-orientedprogramming (OOP), scripting languages, microcode, etc., that may becompiled or assembled into machine readable and executable instructionsand stored on the one or more memory modules 412. Alternatively, themachine readable and executable instructions may be written in ahardware description language (HDL), such as logic implemented viaeither a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configuration or anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or their equivalents.Accordingly, the methods described herein may be implemented in anyconventional computer programming language, as pre-programmed hardwareelements, or as a combination of hardware and software components. Theone or more memory modules 412 may include machine readable instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors 410, cause the centralserver 402 to send instructions to one or more of a plurality of AGVs100 for positioning a vehicle in a target parking space.

Still referring to FIG. 4 , the central server 402 comprises networkinterface hardware 416 for communicatively coupling the central server402 to the bay 200, the AGV 100, and the user device 404. The networkinterface hardware 416 can be communicatively coupled to thecommunication path 414 and can be any device capable of transmittingand/or receiving data via the network 406. Accordingly, the networkinterface hardware 416 can include a communication transceiver forsending and/or receiving any wired or wireless communication. Forexample, the network interface hardware 416 may include an antenna, amodem, LAN port, Wi-Fi card, WiMax card, mobile communications hardware,near-field communication hardware, satellite communication hardwareand/or any wired or wireless hardware for communicating with othernetworks and/or devices. In one embodiment, the network interfacehardware 416 includes hardware configured to operate in accordance withthe Bluetooth® wireless communication protocol.

Still referring to FIG. 4 , the central server 402 may becommunicatively coupled to the bay 200, the AGV 100, and the user device404 by the network 406. In one embodiment, the network 406 may includeone or more computer networks (e.g., a personal area network, a localarea network, or a wide area network), cellular networks, satellitenetworks and/or a global positioning system and combinations thereof.Accordingly, the central server 402 can be communicatively coupled tothe network 406 via a wide area network, via a local area network, via apersonal area network, via a cellular network, via a satellite network,etc. Suitable local area networks may include wired Ethernet and/orwireless technologies such as, for example, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi).Suitable personal area networks may include wireless technologies suchas, for example, IrDA, Bluetooth®, Wireless USB, Z-Wave, ZigBee, and/orother near field communication protocols. Suitable cellular networksinclude, but are not limited to, technologies such as LTE, WiMAX, UMTS,CDMA, and GSM.

Referring still to FIG. 4 , the bay 200, as well as any other bay 200not illustrated herein, is communicatively coupled to the central server402 via the network 406 and includes various sensors and networkinterface hardware, similar to the network interface hardware 416 of thecentral server 402. As discussed herein, the bay 200 may include one ormore presence detection sensors 216 for identifying when an object suchas a vehicle and/or a person is within the bay 200. The data detected bysensors, such as the presence detection sensors 216, may be transmittedto the central server 402 to determine a schedule for configuring thebay 200 into either the insert-ready state or the retrieve-ready statebased on a predicted parking demand.

The AGV 100, as well as any other AGV 100 not illustrated herein, iscommunicatively coupled to the central server 402 via the network 406and includes various sensors and network interface hardware, similar tothe network interface hardware 416 of the central server 402. As such,the central server 402 sends instructions to the AGV 100 includinginstructions to move a tray 102 to a particular location so thatvehicles within the parking garage 108 may be parked within a targetparking space, or retrieved and delivered to a bay 200 to be picked upby the owner.

The user device 404 may be any suitable device such as a mobile device,for example, a cell phone, tablet, or other suitable computing device.In other embodiments, the user device 404 may be a fixed device providedoutside or within the bay 200. In any event, the user device 404 iscapable of receiving information regarding a parking reservation. Theparking reservation identifies that a vehicle owner intends to leave avehicle to be parked within the parking garage 108. In embodiments, theparking reservation may be created as the vehicle is already within abay 200 such that it is ready to be parked in a particular parking spacewithin the parking garage 108. In other embodiments, the parkingreservation may be created in advance and thus indicate a drop off timeat which the vehicle will arrive at the bay 200 to be parked within theparking garage 108. As discussed in more detail herein, the parkingreservation may include a pick up time at which the owner intends onpicking up the vehicle. The parking reservation may be modified afterthe vehicle is parked within the parking garage 108 such as, forinstance, if the owner desires to pick up the vehicle earlier than thepreviously indicated pick up time. In embodiments, the owner ispermitted to pay for parking services through the user device as well asselect and/or pay for additional services such as, for example, prioritypreferences. When the owner selects the priority preferences, thecentral server 402 will prioritize instructions to retrieve the owner'svehicle ahead of other owners that have not selected the prioritypreferences.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , the controller 408 of the central server 402is shown. In embodiments, the controller 408 generally includes areservation module 500, a job planning module 502, a pre-shufflingdetermination module 504, a priority determination module 506, a datacollection module 508, and a bay configuration determination module 510.

As noted herein, the user device 404 allows a vehicle owner to create aparking reservation and transmit the parking reservation to the centralserver 402. Accordingly, the reservation module 500 receives the parkingreservations, including the drop off time and the pick up time, fromeach user device 404. It should be appreciated that a pick up time maynot be associated with each vehicle. In embodiments, the job planningmodule 502 is the decision-making system that plans the movement of theAGVs 100 and the actions of the bay 200 to complete provided jobs suchas, for example, vehicle retrieve requests. Based on a length of timethat the vehicle will be parked in the parking garage 108, i.e., theduration of time between the drop off time and the pick up time, atarget parking space within the parking garage 108 may be determined.The length of time that the vehicle will be parked within the parkinggarage may directly correlate to a distance at which the vehicle isparked from the bay 200. For example, if the length of time is greaterthan 5 hours, the controller 408 may instruct an AGV 100 to park thevehicle in a target parking space further from the bay 200 than if thelength of time were to be less than 5 hours. Alternatively, or inaddition thereto, the length of time that the vehicle will be parkedwithin the parking garage 108 may directly correlate to how “parked in”the vehicle will be. As discussed herein, the term “parked in” refers toa situation in which one or more vehicles will have to be moved in orderto permit another vehicle to be retrieved. For example, if the length oftime is greater than 5 hours, the controller 408 may instruct an AGV 100to park the vehicle in a target parking space that is parked in by morevehicles than if the length of time were to be less than 5 hours. Inembodiments, the pick up time stored within the reservation module 500may be modified in response to receiving an updated pick up time fromthe user device 404. For example, a vehicle owner may utilize the userdevice 404 to indicate that the vehicle owner is on their way to pick upthe vehicle. Accordingly, the reservation module 500 may updateinstructions to retrieve the vehicle sooner than originally anticipatedin the manner discussed herein, which may update the schedule created bythe job planning module 502.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , a diagram of the parking garage 108 is showndepicting a graphical representation of each of the parking spaces inthe parking garage 108 and including two bays 200. As shown, eachparking space is classified based on whether it is currently a 1-pick,2-pick, 3-pick, or 4-pick parking space. A vehicle parked in a 1-pickparking space may be retrieved without requiring any other trays 102,which may or may not be carrying vehicles, to be moved out of the way. Avehicle parked in a 2-pick parking space will require one tray 102 to bemoved out of the way so that the vehicle may be retrieved. A vehicleparked in a 3-pick parking space will require two trays 102 to be movedout of the way so that the vehicle may be retrieved. A vehicle parked ina 4-pick parking space will require three trays 102 to be moved out ofthe way so that the vehicle may be retrieved. It should be appreciatedthat, in a larger parking garage, parking spaces may be denoted as5-pick, 6-pick, and the like. As the number of trays 102 required to bemoved to retrieve a particular vehicle increases, the total time toretrieve the vehicle also increases. Therefore, those vehiclesassociated with a parking reservation that have a longer length of timeto be parked within the parking garage may be parked-in more than thosevehicles associated with a parking reservation that have a shorterlength of time. It should be appreciated that the classification of eachparking space may be changed in real-time based on movement of trays.Accordingly, for example, if a tray 102 parked in front of a 2-pickparking space is moved, the 2-pick parking space will change to a 1-pickparking space. Similarly, for example, if a tray 102 is parked in frontof a 1-pick parking space, the 1-pick parking space will be changed to a2-pick parking space.

Referring again to FIG. 5 , the pre-shuffling determination module 504is configured to identify a manner in which vehicles parked in theparking garage 108 should be rearranged based on a pick up time for aparked-in vehicle. For example, when the time remaining until a pick uptime for a particular target vehicle parked in the parking garage 108 tobe retrieved is less than a predetermined pick up time threshold, thepre-shuffling determination module 504 will determine a set ofpre-shuffling instructions to be sent to one or more AGVs 100 to permitthe target vehicle to be parked closer to one of the bays 200 for theremaining time until the pick up time. As a non-limiting example, thepre-shuffling instructions may include instructions sent to only asingle AGV 100 to move the tray 102 carrying the target vehicle to anopen parking space located closer to any bay 200. As anothernon-limiting example, the pre-shuffling instructions may includeinstructions sent to the AGV 100 to move the target vehicle directlyinto a bay 200 if it is determined that the remaining time is less thana predetermined bay storage time threshold. As another non-limitingexample, the pre-shuffling instructions may include instructions sent toa plurality of AGVs 100 in which each AGV 100 is instructed to move anassociated tray 102 out of a path of the target vehicle so that thetarget vehicle may be retrieved by another AGV 100 and moved to a targetparking space closer to the bay 200 or, in embodiments, within the bay200 itself. In embodiments, the pre-shuffling determination module 504determines whether the target vehicle should be moved to a new parkingspace based on the time required to move the target vehicle to the newparking space and the time saved to deliver the target vehicle to thebay 200. For example, if the sum of the time required to move the targetvehicle to the new parking space and the time required to move thetarget vehicle from the new parking space to the bay 200 is equal to orgreater than the time required to move the target vehicle from theoriginal parking space to the bay 200, the pre-shuffling determinationmodule 504 will determine that it is not beneficial to move the targetvehicle to the new parking space.

As discussed herein, a vehicle owner may operate the user device 404 toselect or pay for priority preferences. This allows a vehicle toretrieve priority treatment over other vehicles or jobs such as thoserequiring navigation of other trays 102 not having or assigned prioritypreferences. For example, jobs may include reparking a tray 102,retrieving a vehicle, charging an AGV 100, and the like. Referring stillto FIG. 5 , the priority determination module 506 identifies a priorityranking of the vehicles parked within the parking garage 108 and permitsinstructions associated with those vehicles when a priority condition issatisfied. For example, if it is determined that two vehicles parkedwithin the parking garage 108 each have the same pick up time, thevehicle having priority preferences selected by the owner via the userdevice 404 will be permitted to move closer to the bay 200 or into thebay 200 prior to the other vehicle that did not receive prioritypreferences. Similarly, if the pre-shuffling determination module 504identifies a first set of instructions for pre-shuffling vehicles in theparking garage 108 to move a first target vehicle having prioritypreferences closer to a bay 200, and a second set of instructions forpre-shuffling vehicles in the parking garage 108 to move a second targetvehicle without priority preferences closer to the bay 200, the firstset of instructions will be carried out prior to the second set ofinstructions to permit the first target vehicle to be moved closer tothe bay prior to the second target vehicle.

The data collection module 508 of the controller 408 receives parkingdata collected by the various sensors of each bay 200, such as thepresence detection sensors 216. The data collection module 508 utilizesthe collected parking data to determine trends with respect to requeststo park a vehicle and requests to pick up a vehicle. In embodiments, thedata collection module 508 associates the drop off time and pick up timeof each parking reservation with a time of day, a day of the week,current weather, and other factors. The data collection module 508utilizes this information to predict when more vehicles will beingdropped off to be parked at the parking garage and when more vehicleswill be requested to be retrieved. This information may be beneficialfor preconfiguring the bays 200 into either the insert-ready state orthe retrieve-ready state based on whether there is a higher demand fromowners to park a vehicle or retrieve a vehicle. For instance, the datacollection module 508 may determine that there is a higher demand forparking vehicles during the hours of 7:00 am and 9:00 am on weekdayssuch as when most people are arriving for work. Similarly, the datacollection module 508 may determine that there is a higher demand forretrieving vehicles during the hours of 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm on weekdayssuch as when most people are leaving work. The data collection module508 may utilize a machine learning algorithm for identifying suchtrends.

Based on the trends identified by the data collection module 508, thebay configuration determination module 510 will determine a bayconfiguration ratio in which a predetermined number of the bays 200 willbe configured into the insert-ready state and a predetermined number ofthe bays 200 will be configured into the retrieve-ready state. Forexample, the bay configuration ratio may include a larger number of bays200 configured into the insert-ready state than the number of bays 200configured into the retrieve-ready state when the data collection module508 identifies that there is a greater demand for vehicles being droppedoff for parking than vehicles being picked up. Alternatively, the bayconfiguration ratio may include a larger number of bays 200 configuredinto the retrieve-ready state than the number of bays 200 configuredinto the insert-ready state when the data collection module 508identifies that there is a greater demand for vehicles being picked upthan vehicles being dropped off. The bay configuration determinationmodule 510 may assign a specific configuration to each bay 200 based onthe bay configuration ratio. Accordingly, in embodiments, a bay 200 thatis assigned to be configured in a retrieve-ready state will repeatedlybe configured into the retrieve-ready state after the bay 200 isutilized to receive a vehicle and the vehicle is parked in the parkinggarage 108. Similarly, in embodiments, a bay 200 that is assigned to beconfigured in an insert-ready state will repeatedly be configured intothe insert-ready state after the bay 200 is utilized to deliver avehicle to an owner. In other embodiments, it may be determined that itis not necessary to re-configure the bay 200 into the originaldetermined configuration in instances in which another bay 200 may bereadily configured into the necessary state and thus reestablish the bayconfiguration ratio. Moreover, it should be appreciated that the bayconfiguration ratio may change throughout the day based on changes intrends determined by the data collection module 508.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , a method 700 for determining a parking spacefor a target vehicle is depicted, according to one or more embodimentsshown and described herein. The method 700 is described herein withreference to FIGS. 1-6 . Initially, at step 702, the central server 402receives a parking request from a user device 404. The parking requestmay be detected by the presence detection sensor 216 within the bay 200,generated by some other device within the bay 200, or created by theuser device 404 prior to entering the bay 200 and identify a drop offtime that the vehicle will arrive. The parking request is stored withinthe reservation module 500 of the central server 402. In any event, themethod 700 proceeds to step 704 at which one of the bays 200 areconfigured into the retrieve-ready state, if not already in the retrieveready state. In doing so, the central server 402 sends instruction toone of the AGVs 100 to move under a tray 102, activate the liftingmechanism to raise the tray 102 off the floor surface 106, and move thetray 102 toward the bay 200. In embodiments, the central server 402 alsosends instruction to the bay 200 to position the rearward-facing door212 into the open position such that the tray 102 may enter the bay 200.However, as discussed herein, it may be possible for the tray 102 tomove under the rearward-facing door 212 while in the closed position andstill enter the bay 200. Thus, the AGV 100 positions the tray 102 withinthe recess 214 formed in the base 202C of the bay 200. The centralserver 402 then instructs the bay 200 to position the rearward-facingdoor 212 into the closed position, if previously in the open position,and position the forward-facing door 210 into the open position so thatthe owner may drive the vehicle into the bay 200.

At step 706, once the presence detection sensors 216 within the bay 200identify that the vehicle has been parked on the tray 102 and the ownerhas exited the bay 200, the forward-facing door 210 is positioned intothe closed position, the rearward-facing door 212 is positioned into theopen position, and the AGV 100 is instructed to move the vehicle, i.e.,the target vehicle, into a target parking space. Specifically, thecentral server 402 submits a job request to the job planning module 502to instruct the AGV 100 to move the tray 102 carrying the target vehicleto a particular target parking space. As discussed herein, the targetparking space is based on the length of time the target vehicle will beparked in the parking garage 108, i.e., the length of time from thecurrent time to the pick up time.

At step 708, the pre-shuffling determination module 504 of the centralserver 402 determines whether a pre-shuffling condition is satisfied. Inembodiments, the pre-shuffling condition may be satisfied when the timeremaining until the pick up time for the target vehicle is less than thepredetermined pick up time threshold. If it is determined that thepre-shuffling condition is not satisfied at step 708, the method 700proceeds to step 710 at which the target vehicle remains in the currenttarget parking space. The method 700 then returns to step 708 until itis determined that the pre-shuffling condition is satisfied, at whichtime the method 700 proceeds to step 712 and the target vehicle is movedto a new parking space, i.e., a candidate parking space.

At step 712, the central server 402 sends a set of instructions to aplurality of the AGVs 100 to coordinate moving the target vehicle to acandidate parking space closer to the bay 200. As discussed herein, theset of instructions may include instructions sent to a plurality of AGVs100 to move one or more trays 102 out of a moving path of the AGV 100carrying the tray 102 on which the target vehicle is parked so that thetarget vehicle may be parked in the candidate parking space.

Thereafter, at step 714, when a retrieve request is received such as,for example, when a remaining time until the pick up time is below thepredetermined bay storage time threshold or a specific retrieve requestis received from a user device 404, the central server 402 determinesthat it may be appropriate to move the target vehicle into a bay 200.However, prior to moving the target vehicle into the bay 200, the method700 proceeds to step 716 where the priority determination module 506determine whether a priority condition is satisfied.

As discussed herein, the priority determination module 506 may create aplan for completing jobs such as, for example, reparking a tray 102,retrieving a vehicle, charging an AGV 100, and the like, such that thevarious jobs are completed in as little time as possible, whileprioritizing those jobs that received a priority preference. Moreparticularly, the priority determination module 506 may receive aplurality of jobs, create the plan for carrying out or completing thejobs, and execute the plan. The plan may be continually modified basedon additional jobs received, updating pick up times received from a userdevice 404, and the like.

Specifically, at step 716, the priority condition may be satisfied, forexample, if there are no other vehicles being moved into the same bay200 at the same time such that there would be a scheduling conflictbetween vehicles in the bay 200. Another example in which the prioritycondition may be satisfied is if the target vehicle received prioritypreference over another vehicle that was intended to be moved into thesame bay 200 at the same time. If so, the method 700 proceeds to step718 at which the central server 402 sends instruction to an AGV 100 toperform the job, for example, move the tray 102 on which the targetvehicle is parked into the bay 200. In the above example, the centralserver 402 also sends instruction to the bay 200 to be configured intothe insert-ready state, if not already in the insert ready state.However, it should be appreciated that the priority determination module506 continually determines whether the priority condition is satisfied,even during a current job. Accordingly, the method 700 may return tostep 716 to continually determine that the priority condition issatisfied so that the job may continue to be carried out.

However, if it is determined at step 716 that the priority condition isnot satisfied such as, for example, another vehicle has prioritypreference over the target vehicle, the method 700 proceeds to step 720and the specific job is not completed, for example, the target vehicleremains in the current parking space, e.g., the target parking space orthe candidate parking space if pre-shuffled. The process returns to step716 until it is determined that the priority condition is satisfied suchthat the target vehicle may be moved into the bay 200 and retrieved bythe owner.

Referring now to FIG. 8 , a method 800 for determining a bayconfiguration ratio and preconfiguring the bays 200 is depicted,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. Themethod 800 is described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-6 . Initially,at step 802, the data collection module 508 obtains parking data basedon the number of vehicles parked and the number of vehicles retrieved,as well as when each occurs, such as the time of day, day of the week,weather conditions, and other factors.

Once the parking data has been collected, the method 800 proceeds tostep 804 at which the bay configuration determination module 510 willidentify trends in the parking data and, more specifically, determinethe bay configuration ratio. As discussed herein, the bay configurationratio indicates how many of the bays 200 should be configured into theinsert-ready state and how many bays 200 should be configured into theretrieve-ready state based on current demand for parking and retrievingvehicles.

Thereafter, at step 806, the central server 402 sends instructions toeach of the bays 200 to be configured into a particular configurationbased on the bay configuration ratio determined by the bay configurationdetermination module 510. As a non-limiting example, if the bayconfiguration ratio indicates a bay configuration ratio of 80%insert-ready state and 20% retrieve-ready state, then the central server402 will send instruction to 80% of the bays 200 to be configured intothe insert-ready state and 20% of the bays 200 to be configured into theretrieve-ready state. In response to each bay 200 receiving the specificinstruction from the central server 402, each bay 200 is configured intothe particular configuration.

At step 808, the bays 200 may be utilized to carry out vehicle parkingand vehicle retrieval as discussed herein. In doing so, the bays 200 maybe positioned out of their initial configuration as vehicles insertedinto the bays 200 are parked within the parking garage 108 and othervehicles are retrieved from the bays 200. Accordingly, the method 800continually returns to step 806 to reconfigure the bays 200 to ensurethat the bay configuration ratio remains satisfied. As discussed herein,it may not be necessary for each bay 200 to return to its initialconfiguration if it is more efficient, i.e., takes less time, toconfigure other bays 200 so that the total number of bays 200 satisfiesthe bay configuration ratio. For example, it may not be necessary toreconfigure a bay 200 back into the insert-ready state if another bay200 previously in the retrieve-ready state can be more efficientlyconfigured into the insert-ready state such that the bay configurationratio remains the same across all bays 200.

From the above, it is to be appreciated that defined herein are parkingsystems including a controller configured to receive a parkingreservation from a user device identifying that a target vehicle intendsto be parked, send instruction to one of a plurality of AGVs to positiona tray within a bay to receive the target vehicle in response toreceiving the parking reservation, send instruction to one of the AGVsto navigate the target vehicle received within the bay to a targetparking space, and send instruction to at least a subset of the AGVs torearranging the tray carrying the target vehicle based on a pick up timeindicated in the parking reservation. The controller may also beconfigured to determine a bay configuration ratio based on one or moreparameters, each bay being configured into one of an insert-ready stateor a retrieve-ready state in accordance with the bay configurationratio, wherein when a bay is in the insert-ready state, a tray is placedwithin the bay and an outward-facing door of the bay is in an openposition, and wherein when a bay is in the retrieve-ready state, theoutward-facing door of the bay is in a closed position, an inward-facingdoor of the bay is in an open position, and no tray is positioned withinthe bay.

While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein,it should be understood that various other changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the scope of the claimed subject matter.Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter havebeen described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination.It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changesand modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A parking system comprising: a plurality oftrays; a plurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) configured totransport the plurality of trays; a plurality of bays; and a controllerconfigured to determine a bay configuration ratio based on collectedparking data, each bay being configured into one of an insert-readystate and a retrieve-ready state in accordance with the bayconfiguration ratio, wherein when a bay is in the insert-ready state, atray is placed within the bay and an outward-facing door of the bay isin an open position, wherein when a bay is in the retrieve-ready state,the outward-facing door of the bay is in a closed position, aninward-facing door of the bay is in an open position, and no tray ispositioned within the bay.
 2. The parking system of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to determine the bay configuration ratio basedon trends of vehicles being dropped off in the bays and vehicles beingpicked up from the bays at specific times.
 3. The parking system ofclaim 2, wherein the controller is configured to receive parking datafrom a presence detection sensor provided in each bay, the presencedetection sensor configured to detect the presence of a vehicle withinthe each, and wherein the bay configuration ratio is determined based onthe parking data received from the presence detection sensor.
 4. Theparking system of claim 2, wherein the bay configuration ratio isdetermined using a machine learning algorithm.
 5. The parking system ofclaim 2, wherein the tray is positionable within a recess formed in abase of the bay, and wherein the outward-facing door is opposite theinward-facing door.
 6. The parking system of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to assign each bay one of the insert-readystate and the retrieve-ready state, and after a vehicle is removed fromthe bay, instruct the bay to be reconfigured into the one of theinsert-ready state and the retrieve-ready state to reestablish the bayconfiguration ratio.
 7. A parking system comprising: a plurality oftrays, each tray including a platform and a plurality of legs extendingfrom the platform; a plurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs)configured to engage a bottom surface of the platform of each tray andtransport the tray; a plurality of bays, each bay including a basehaving a recess formed therein for receiving a tray; and a controllerconfigured to determine a bay configuration ratio based on collectedparking data, each bay being configured into one of an insert-readystate and a retrieve-ready state in accordance with the bayconfiguration ratio, wherein when a bay is in the insert-ready state, atray is placed within the bay and an outward-facing door of the bay isin an open position, wherein when a bay is in the retrieve-ready state,the outward-facing door of the bay is in a closed position, aninward-facing door of the bay is in an open position, and no tray ispositioned within the bay.
 8. The parking system of claim 7, wherein anupper surface of the platform is flush with an upper surface of the basewhen the tray is positioned within the recess formed in the base of thebay.
 9. The parking system of claim 7, wherein the AGV is dimensioned tobe positioned under the platform of the tray by moving through gapsformed between the plurality of legs of the tray in a first axis and asecond axis transverse to the first axis.
 10. The parking system ofclaim 7, wherein the controller is configured to determine the bayconfiguration ratio based on trends of vehicles being dropped off in thebays and vehicles being picked up from the bays at specific times. 11.The parking system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured toreceive parking data from a presence detection sensor provided in eachbay, the presence detection sensor configured to detect the presence ofa vehicle within the each, and wherein the bay configuration ratio isdetermined based on the parking data received from the presencedetection sensor.
 12. The parking system of claim 10, wherein the bayconfiguration ratio is determined using a machine learning algorithm.13. The parking system of claim 10, wherein the bay is positioned at aperimeter of a parking garage such that the inward-facing door isadjacent the parking garage and the outward-facing door is opposite theinward-facing door.
 14. The parking system of claim 7, wherein thecontroller is configured to assign each bay one of the insert-readystate and the retrieve-ready state, and after a vehicle is removed fromthe bay, instruct the bay to be reconfigured into the one of theinsert-ready state and the retrieve-ready state to reestablish the bayconfiguration ratio.
 15. A method comprising: determining a bayconfiguration ratio based on collected parking data; and positioning aplurality of bays in one of an insert-ready state and a retrieve-readystate in accordance with the bay configuration ratio, wherein when a bayis in the insert-ready state, a tray is placed within the bay and anoutward-facing door of the bay is in an open position, wherein when abay is in the retrieve-ready state, the outward-facing door of the bayis in a closed position, an inward-facing door of the bay is in an openposition, and no tray is positioned within the bay.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising determining the bay configuration ratiobased on trends of vehicles being dropped off in the bays and vehiclesbeing picked up from the bays at specific times.
 17. The method of claim15, further comprising: receiving the collected parking data from apresence detection sensor provided in each bay, the presence detectionsensor configured to detect the presence of a vehicle within the each;and determining the bay configuration ratio based on the collectedparking data received from the presence detection sensor.
 18. The methodof claim 15, further comprising determining the bay configuration ratiousing a machine learning algorithm.
 19. The method of claim 15, whereinthe tray is positionable within a recess formed in a base of the bay,and wherein the outward-facing door is opposite the inward-facing door.20. The method of claim 15, further comprising assigning each bay one ofthe insert-ready state and the retrieve-ready state, and after a vehicleis removed from the bay, reconfiguring the bay into the one of theinsert-ready state and the retrieve-ready state to reestablish the bayconfiguration ratio.